gear weight attempt

[garyp]

Hello all,

I am attempting to get my gear weight down. I would like to get a base weight of around 17. What do you guys think can be changed.

If I change my cooking pot to a titanium pot it will reduce my weight from 10 oz to 5 oz. that is one thing, what do you guys think?

I am not thinking the bear can is showing as my base weight.

[Dochartaigh]

I would start with the pack and the sleeping bag.

A Gossamer Gear Mariposa (or similar) will be around 33 ounces, your current one is 94 ounces. That's 3.8 pounds saved right there.

Your bag is 43 ounces. A 20º quilt is around 18 ounces. 1.56 pounds saved.

You can keep going on and on. It's basically up to how much money you want to spend.

[Dochartaigh]

Here's some other thoughts while I'm bored on this Sunday night... I'm going on memory for the weights and prices so don't count on them being 100% accurate.

MSR Ground Hog mini stakes (no loss of major performance I’ve seen, even in semi-sandy soil)

Thermarest NeoAir Xlite air mattress, large size even, is 16 oz.

Alcohol stove is a TON lighter, as is the fuel needed to run it - only real downside is longer cook time (you can even simmer with it if you use a simmer ring)

Pot you already know - and you don’t need a second mug IMO (unless you're a BIG coffee drinker)

A 2 liter bladder should only weigh 1.3 ounces like the Platypus. Even my 2L Hoser bladder (with drink tube) is around 3 ounces (not 10 like yours)

Full size Sawyer filter is ~6 ounces, about half that for the Sawyer mini
Backup water treatment can be Aquaria in smaller bottles ~ 1 ounce

$30ish Petzl elite headlamp is 1 ounce (1.5 oz saved right there)

Ditch the camp towel, or get one of the super light sham-wow types

Camp trowel can be 0.4 or 0.6 ounces in Titanium for about $30

Do you need a wash cloth if you’re packing a camp towel?

I wouldn’t count trekking poles in your base weight (perhaps debatable, but you are crying them on you and not in the pack). There’s sets around 10 ounces for 2x poles for around $130.

Is a bear vault needed where you’re going? Or is a throw bag allowed?

Star chart? Don’t you carry a cell phone with you already?

[garyp]

has to be a can bags arent allowed

[garlic08]

I agree the pack and sleeping categories are pretty high, nearly half your spreadsheet weight. I currently use a 30F quilt and Ridgerest pad, total about 30 oz, and my Gossamer Gear pack and plastic liner are about 18 oz. Total cost of all those items was less than $300. (You don't have to spend tons of money.)

The last thing I did that got my pack weight into the UL category was going stoveless. It doesn't work for everybody, but it worked spectacularly for me. And that cost less than nothing--now I don't have to buy fuel in trail towns.

My Tarptent Contrail with titanium stakes is only 24 oz. You must have one of the bigger Tarptents.

It looks like you've cut down on a lot of the "extras" (that weigh practically nothing!) many people carry, and that's a huge step. Reducing pack weight can be a long journey over many season, figuring out what works for you on your travels. Good luck!

[bigcranky]

Deal with the pounds first, then start looking at the ounces.

That is, your pack is terrific, but it's extremely heavy for a long distance hiker's pack. Plenty of 2-2.5 pound packs out there that are perfect for a 17 pound base, and this one change alone gets you down to 17 pounds. The ULA Circuit is wildly popular for a reason. :)

43 ounces is heavy for a 30-F rated bag. You can get well under two pounds for that rating, saving another pound.

You already have a light tent, and a reasonably light pad (though spending the bucks on a Neoair would save another pound.)

If you make all these changes, that's 5.5 pounds saved. Then maybe that 10 ounce pot doesn't look so bad :)

[LogHiking]

Agree pack and bag will get you almost to your target base weight by themselves. Lots of good packs out there in the 2 pound range. ULA is probably a good place to start. Also if you wanted to stick with synthetic bags I would try the MLD Spirit 28 quilt. Best construction of any quilt I have seen and very true to rating thus far in my experience. Packs up small for a synthetic (climashield Apex insulation, best on the market) and is very feature rich. It comes in at 26 ounces. With that said my 20 deg down quilt is under 20 ounces so there is some weight to be saved with down. But living in the northeast I reach for and anticipate continuing to reach for my spirit over the down quilt.

After that I would just see where I could save 5-6 ounces per switch and consider those. There will be lots of spots you can shave 2-3 but they can get really expensive really fast for not a huge reduction in weight (relatively that is, for some 2 oz is huge).

[swjohnsey]

Going with WM Highlight and short Neoair will knock off three lbs.

[Connie]

Hammock Gear top quilt, less than 1 lb, and, NeoAir Xlite or XTherm, less than 1 lb.

Let feet and lower legs rest on backpack, the NeoAir inflated only enough so your hip doesn't hit the floor when you turn on your side. Try this at home. Doesn't require full inflation.

How about the Solo Bear Vault? Their website describes how many days food for each model.

However, I was thinking to purchase the larger one to use to sit on in the campsite.

[QiWiz]

You might want to look at $$ spent versus weight saved. Some ideas, in no particular order:

A lighter pack. Yours is HEAVY. Can easily save 3 or even 4 pounds here.
Replace the pad with a NeoAir XLite or XTherm depending on the R value you want.
Ditch the water filter that weighs nearly a pound; use Aqua Mira drops and the Sawyer you already have.
Ditch the water bladder and take disposable Smartwater or Gatorade or similar plastic bottles.
Replace your heavy pot with a lighter one. A Stanco Aluminum Greasepot is less than $10 and less than 4 oz. Or splurge on the titanium.
Ditch the 4 oz insulated mug. Make a 1 oz insulated mug from a plastic container or cut-down beverage can plus a cozy.
And other ideas as listed by others above.